#Honda Factory Performance

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Honda S2000, 2004, by A&L Racing. A version of the S2000 prepared by Adam Saruwatari and his A&L Racing team joined alongside Honda Factory Performance with:

Powertrain Modifications  o Comptech supercharger o Comptech liquid to air charge air cooler o HPC Extreme coated Comptech stainless steel headers o Custom Modula stainless steel exhaust

Chassis/Suspension Modifications o Koni adjustable shocks o Eibach Springs coil over spring set up o Comptech titanium strut tower bar o Brembo front brakes with 4-piston calipers o Brembo rear brakes with cross drilled rotors

[chussyracing]

f1 news, rumours and interesting facts from the last few days

Alpine is parting ways with Director of Racing Expansion Projects Davide Brivio at the end of 2023 despite his contract running into 2024, there are rumours he will join Repsol Honda motogp team as a team boss

Aston Martin got approval for a new research and development facility in Silverstone

Either Andrea Stella is joking or smoking crack because he thinks in equal cars, the three best drivers on the grid would be Max, Lando and Fernando

Jannik Sinner scored a partnership with f1 to attend some races and promote the sport (and then visited Maranello)

Kubica is confirmed for ferrari's third hypercar and Shwartzman said he is interested in the seat as well - but he also tested indycar with Ganassi

Sainz says new ferrari 2024 car (or protect rather than a car at this point) behaves differently in the sim to the 2023 one

Aramco signed 5 year extension with am and they will be named aston martin aramco f1 team

Alfa Romeo is now Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber..... (and alpha tauri added the "RB" to their name which could be racing bulls but also red bull)

Merc is finally leaving the no side pod design to allow more event distribution and less drag

Charles won the overtake of the year with his move on Perez in Las Vegas!!!!

Fia changed rules about misconduct (and officially changed maximum fine to 1m euros, prohobited the use of flares on grandstands and shortened the right to review from 14 days to 96 hours aka 4 days)

Rbr did a pit stop in dark for some kind of dick measuring contest and got 2.84s which is just faster of ferrari's normal pit stops (if we have all 4 tyres ready)

Button to hypercar with Jota in 2024

Alpine finished the shares selling to us investors (the reynolds guy thingy)

Max went on about how absurd his fee is despite his team saying they will pay for him so... um 🤐

Fia hired more staff for in factory check ups to visit every 2/3 weeks but they wanna start visits with little to no notice where they call the factory and immediately visit in 10/15 mins

Rbr will start making a new wind tunnel in Milton Keynes that should be finished in (or was it by?) 2026

Ferrari confirmed the previously rumoured date of 2024 car presentation for 13th feb (Fred also said the car will be 95% different which supports Carlos saying the car concept is very different in sim and Fred saying they completely skipped two upgrades this year to focus more on 2024, among other stuff Fred also said both drivers will start on equal terms during the new season start)

Audi is rumoured to be keeping tabs on Lawson besides Ocon and Hulkenberg

there is a new ferrari challenge with matt gallagher from shell (someone remind me to watch it along the math challenge when I have time, also shout out to shell because I love the mini playing car from them i got) and the secret santa was posted (it is kinda boring this year ngl)

Also! The head fortuneteller Mika Hakkinen said yesterday that he thinks mclaren will take another step ahead in performance for 2024 and challenge red bull closer that merc or ferrari, but he also said that ferrari are finally on a correct path and Fred is the one team principal under which they will win a championship again "sooner or later"

While I knew f1 drivers are prohobited from doing dangerous stuff (unless you are Charles Leclerc and can make puppy eyes, then you can run half a marathon, wall climb, ice wall climb, scuba dive, ride and water scooter and what not), but I did not know red bull (and probably other drivers) have it specified in their contract they can't even drive a motorbike - which some of them wanted to do at Honda thanks day seeing Marc Marquez on his bike

Ben Sulayem is playing some weird game i do not like taking a dig at jean todt for leaving the fia operating with a loss (completely disregarding that's counting the covid years where motorsports events often couldn't even take place and lawsuit fees for the use of halo) and saying how under him the non profit organisation will get balanced sheet by 2025 (also said how fia must focus on safety and reputation which... hmm)

There are some rumours about the fia and its integrity and governing abilities (I just learned about how they fucked up wtcc and then wtcr after making the championship with close fights and easy rules where more teams could get in too exclusive opening chance for Citroën only to get ready for new rules so they dominated everything and adding huge spoilers which created dirty air and kept overtaking close to zero. Sounds scarily similar to f1 these days?)

[batsplat]

I know need to know what the fuck was the honda three rider team about. Bc that sounds made up as fuck

historical silly season: 2010 edition!

in early 2010, casey had very much had enough of ducati

rumours are that he'd already been looking to break his contract for the 2010 season after how ducati had handled the whole mystery illness 2009 saga... releasing inaccurate statements about his condition to the press without his consent, implying his diet was to blame - as well as offering jorge a shit ton of money to come ride for them. crucially more than they were paying casey

this was from mid 2009 and the vibes were already BAD back then... it's hard to know how seriously to take retirement rumours from the time given casey just wasn't. really... talking to the press, so a lot of the times the media was relying on other sources from inside his camp or just wildly speculating

anyway, casey did see out the 2010 season with ducati, but at the start of the year he essentially gave them an ultimatum - he wanted them to rip up his proposed contract and have them show him how much he was worth to them. they did not do so

according to casey, he already signed a contract at the second round of the season in jerez, which gives you a sense of how done he was with all things ducati - but it was only announced after the seventh round in july. the move was made smoother by casey's existing close relationship with livio suppo, who had himself recently made the switch from ducati to honda

very much the right time to make the move for sure. at the time, there was speculation that casey's poor results in the first half of the season was due to decreased motivation, which of course he strongly denied. really, it was the fault of the bike and team - and casey would show as much the following year at honda

one little problem. honda already had two factory contracted riders for 2011: dani and dovi. now, dani had been honda's wunderkind since forever, and after their last world champ nicky hayden - who was not on particularly warm terms with dani's camp, it has to be said - departed the team, dovi had been the chosen replacement. dovi was a long time honda loyalist, even when he was riding their underpowered bikes to championship runner up positions against jorge in 250cc, and he'd also had a highly impressive rookie season

2009 had not been a particularly great year for either factory honda rider, partly due to bike performance partly due to injuries partly due to... rider performance. it was a rough year for dovi in particular, despite his win in tricky conditions at donington (all four aliens deliver quite funny performances at that race in different ways. not exactly the finest of hours for any of them)

when casey's signing was announced, honda initially went 'okay three factory blokes but maybe we'll have two in the real team and then one in a fake team'

the problem, right, is that it costs a lot of money to field a three man team - this is why honda was so keen on the red bull option, because then they could pay for the seat

honda confirmed its intention to have four factory honda riders in 2011, those three and sic, in mid-september. but they still needed to figure out where to put them. they didn't manage to get the funds to put casey in a separate team, and then they tried to put dovi on the satellite squad:

now, dovi was on a 2+1 contract, with 2009-10 guaranteed and an option to extend for another year. the contract included a performance clause - and dovi was having a more successful 2010 season, so hrc was having some trouble forcing dovi to accept the move:

so yeah, obviously not exactly great behaviour to sign a third rider when your team is already essentially full... and then immediately spend the next few months trying to get rid of one of your existing riders who is still entitled to that seat

some more details:

for a while, dovi looked like he might be leaning towards accepting it, and was certainly keen to stress that he wasn't rejecting gresini due to his interpersonal issues with some of the team's personnel. this from september:

eventually, repsol agreed to fund the whole thing so that honda could honour their commitments to all three riders:

so, one team for all of them, if still a wee bit of healthy internal separation

and by november the whole thing was sorted

honda did have some internal precedent for this! in 1997, they fielded three factory riders: doohan, criville and okada

also back in the day they did just create shell teams organised around one rider, which is of course where valentino spent his first two years in the premier class

and here's the updated version from 2011!

anyway, it was only something honda was willing to do for one year, and in the end dovi decided to jump ship to yamaha rather than accept internal demotion. the fight for p3 in the championship went right down to the final race in valencia - and it must have been incredibly satisfying for dovi to snatch it from dani there

after this... look, basically they changed the rules to make it two entries at most per team, then they changed it back for like? two years? so that four riders were technically allowed. and then they changed their mind again. now it's just two - obviously teams are allowed wildcards, but they couldn't do this three man team thing anymore nowadays

teams generally wouldn't even want to do this because it's a lot of hassle and, most importantly, money. so yeah, unlikely to make a comeback. very much a quirky curio that won't be replicated... could be funny though. if they want to change the rules again

[gaslightgirlsummer]

I'm really new to motoGP so this is a very stupid question but what's with Marco Bezzecchi joining Aprilla that is so crazy?

No stupid questions when you’re learning!! Especially when it’s not something that’s just an easy fact you can google, but requires more context. I’ll try to be as neutral and comprehensive as possible so you can form your own opinion on this.

First, it’s important to note that Aprilia is in an objectively better place in terms of performance than VR46, and additionally, it is a factory team unlike VR46, which is a customer team to Ducati.

That being said, some (but probably not all) reasons why Bez moving to Aprilia is kinda crazy.

1. Bez is a member of the VR46 riders’ Academy, founded and lead by Valentino Rossi (whom you’ll often see being referred to as VR46’s riders’ father figure).

Since entering the premier class (MotoGP) in 2022, Bez has been in the VR46 racing team, Valentino’s motogp team. He’s also always been known to be very loyal to Vale. Luca Marini, another VR46 Academy boy and Vale’s brother, was his teammate up until last year. He also left the team, for Honda. (*sends a kiss to the sky* that’s for Luca in Honda jail). Two Academy boys leaving the team is, to an extent, surprising, especially considering their close relationship with Vale and the fact that they were very settled and comfortable in the environment. But they both have valid reasons (^ performance, and Luca is another story).

2. I know this is a controversial subject, but it is a topic of debate if Bez is not basically fucking himself over by joining a team where Jorge Martin will undoubtedly be number one, considering Martin is the current championship leader and Bez is having a mini flop era right now. I think a large chunk of fans and professional journalists/analysts operate under the assumption that Martin will outride him (easily or not) and that is not what Bez needs right now. Jorge is also just generally not very. Chill. So there’s that. And there is also the Spanish aspect, which I’ll mention in point 3.

3. And, lastly, we can’t not mention the Marc Marquez of it all.

As you have probably heard, Marc is making the blockbuster move to Ducati Factory Team, where he will partner another Academy boy, Pecco Bagnaia, which basically blew up the rider market this year. Every move happening right now can be traced back to him in some way.

Here is an excerpt from an article that points out one of the many links between Marc’s move to Ducati and the VR46-Aprilia move.

If you want to know more about why exactly the Valentino camp is so strongly anti-Marquez in every way shape or form, that is a matter for hours long research into the history of Valentino and Marc (warning: may end in heartbreak and physical illness). What matters is, they are heart, body and soul allergic to him.

Additionally, there is a clear tension already on the Italian - Spanish line of the grid. Pecco and Jorge are championship rivals this year, Marc is the national enemy #1 of all Italians. Bez getting partnered with Jorge next year is like putting a firecracker in a room full of gasoline and expecting it not to explode.

(Is it an appropriate analogy to the hydrogen bomb nature of Marc in Ducati? I hope)

I think I covered most of it here, but if I missed something I’m sure someone will make an addition in the reblogs or replies. Hope this helps!

[moonshynecybin]

"Pecco does NOT want marquez in the team as my highly paid Ducati spies have told me" -- Oxley bom podcast. Yeah who would have thought, Pecco is so transparent 😂😂.

So I am assuming that Pecco's issue is Marc's riding style mildly (Significantly?) colored by rosquez issues. But honestly, as seen in the past, having a strong rival makes you better, maybe you don't win as much but it pushes you to learn to ride to the brink, to try different things. I feel Pecco needs that now to elevate him as a rider. Does he want to be the perfect Ducati rider or does he want to go beyond that particular bike. Simply put somebody needs to rock his safe space (not to take away from the immense effort he put into learning the bike those 2 championships speak to his hardwork also not saying he is not kinda flopping now out but Marc is a different kind of a kick)

yeah lmao pecco is not going to see it that way though. lol. like. he won them two back to back titles and is by all accounts the number one rider for their team and on that bike. and then they bring in a rider that is maybeee the only one on the grid that can genuinely work him into an enraged italian lather. which. it should be noted marc did on purpose because he sucks and i love him

IF marc beats him on that bike its going to (at least in pecco's mind i think. and quite possibly MANY pundits) put a big fucking fat asterisk on his last two title wins as. okay well marc was injured so pecco won. and marc was on a murder bike so pecco won. and potentially this year marc is at an independent team so pecco won (we shall. SEE !). and it think that would literally drag at every one of peccochino's delicious little insecurities....

like marc took this gresini deal for a LOT of reasons (the honda WAS trying 2 kill him) but one of them was to answer the question: "can marc still do it." a question asked of him not only by marc HIMSELF but ALSO all of the other manufacturers on the grid who are about to enter the marc marquez factory seat sweepstakes, where. rest assured. EVERYONE is now even moreeeee interested in locking his insane pussy down into a deal. its a lot easier for marc to guarantee himself a seat at the ducati factory team if he slays on the year old bike, AND spending time at an independent team where his emotional support brother can be there to cushion the blow puts less pressure on him to perform. like he knowsssss how risky a move like this can be for a rider and their reputation (STILL a dark mark on vale's story) and i think he very strategically laid out a path where he is going to have a lot more leverage going into 2025 in ADDITION to soothing his own neuroses about leaving honda. so yeah pecco might just have to get used to it lmao. because if he DOES go to ducati its going to be a full season of this

world's worst groupchat.

[motocorsas]

hey everybody, i've put together a digest/summary of an article Mat Oxley published in Roadracing World back in January. i have notes on everything each manufacturer has been working on in the off-season, though the article doesn't cover the qatar and sepang tests.

ktm's carbon fiber chassis:

save weight

save large amounts of production time, allowing for more experimentation

stiffness is easier to measure and experiment

miller testified that the grip is better (though binder disagrees), and more power would complement the build

ktm's carbon fiber swingarm is "almost indestructible compared to the aluminium swingarm we used before!", says technical manager Sebastian Risse. the article notes that the manufacturer is also set apart from other factories because of its commitment to make and use bespoke parts, with its own suspension system instead of one modeled on Öhlins parts.

aprilia's aero improvements:

follow a similar model to ducati, using ground-effect devices to generate grip at high lean angles. the wheel covers and swingarm-mounted ducts essentially create a downward suction while the bike is pitched over, reducing sideforce and improving grip.

the gas tank is under the seat for some reason?

braking still needs work though -- the RS-GP has come far in the last 2 years, but struggles more at stop-and-go tracks and favors sweeping, curvy ones. chief engineer Romano Albesiano does note that the bike performed well at Spielberg last year, meaning the braking has been improving, but still has a long way to go. "the way the ducati slows down is unbelievable. we cannot stop like that, even though we use bigger discs. i don't know if ducatis stop by using aero or what..."

honda:

mir says he's "very happy". okay.

he says that front grip has finally improved and that the longer bike allows for more feeling.

the bike is lighter and functions well on used tires

yamaha:

since the engine is an inline 4 and not a v4, it delivers power differently, and often worse.

less power = less aerodynamic downforce = more wheelies = more drag = even less acceleration

the new aero gives less wheelie and new engine produces higher top speed

top speed isn't at all enough to bring the team to the front, but mathematically, yamaha was able to produce higher speeds than any other team during testing. now what they need is to improve rear grip and power delivery; the latter of which will likely require switching to a v4.

ducati:

secret weapon isn't power or top speed, it's traction. the bike is better than any other on corner exit because it can generate so much grip

aero is obviously part of the magic, so the new bodywork design may explain the improvements

pecco asked for more maneuverability

2022 bike was better on entry but would shake on exit, 2023 is the opposite. pecco wants best of both worlds

ducati has a reputation of just winning based off pure power, but that's obviously not the whole story. all these bikes are powerful, but delivery and traction are really the name of the game. hopefully the new concessions rules will allow other teams to try and work up to ducati's level, likely by testing insane new aero as much as possible.

[seat-safety-switch]

They laughed at me, but I knew in my secret heart that I was having the hottest import night of all. The year was 2000, and owners of Honda Civics were watching their own cars duking it out with the cops on the nightly TV news. Lisa Kubo had just struck a blow for women’s rights everywhere by being the first lady in history to replace four head gaskets in one evening.

Front-wheel-drive, high-horsepower compact car drag racing was finally in style, and I was right there to enjoy it in my fibreglass-and-neon-clad 1984 Cadillac Cimarron. Totally stock, of course. Sure, the entire NHRA-mandated roll cage was filled with nitrous oxide, and the original engine had been gone over a few times by GM’s in-house performance team called “the Tim Hortons dumpster,” but basically the same car that Grandma Hitler picked up in late 1983.

There were a lot of differences between traditional NHRA drag racing and the new breed. For one thing, nobody would race a Cadillac over at the traditional tracks. And if they did, they’d know instinctively that any weirdo showing up in a rebadged Cavalier is either really slow, or extremely fast. Here, I was surrounded by racers who could quote every line of Vin Diesel’s most famous role, and knew a Honda Civic factory service manual back-to-front, but were completely unaware of the power potential of my humble luxobarge J-body, even clad in neon stripes and with a then-new Garrett ball-bearing turbocharger sticking out of the hood where the windshield washer bottle used to be.

Of course, even the best-laid plans can go awry. The Christmas tree had barely blinked the green when I saw a set of the parts store’s finest Corvette roller rockers go flying past my windshield, followed by about three-quarters (by volume, not area) of the cylinder head. That night, my chances of becoming an international compact-car racing celebrity came to an abrupt end. I did get the phone numbers of some import models at the after-show, but all of them hung up on me when I asked them if they knew anyone selling any fresh 2.2 litre blocks.

[thisismeracing]

ok so i was thinking about bonnington!reader's origins today

and with bono's jobs in f1 over the years:

2004-01-01 — 2006-01-01 Jordan Grand Prix (Data Engineer) 2006-01-01 — 2009-05-06 Honda (Performance Engineer) 2009-05-06 — 2009-11-16 Brawn GP (Race Engineer) 2009-11-16 — 2011-08-26 Mercedes (Assistant Race Engineer) 2011-08-26 — Present Mercedes (Race Engineer)

if we make little miss bonnington the same age as mick (born 1999)

she wouldve been around 10 when bono was at brawn before they turned into mrecedes

and at the same time she wouldve overlapped when jenson was at brawn

what im getting at is that her and jenson could have formed a familial connection to each other because of the two of them being in the same garage/hospitality/factory basically all the time

imagine she has a few trophies dedicated to her as well as a few of jensons helmets that he has signed

[side note: this girls helmet collection is STACKED, her collection is #1 on a lot of f1 fans rob list]

imagine she still has an old brawn gp hoodie that was way oversized on her as because she stole it from her dad and refused to wear the child sized one that was specially made for her by the clothing department

and any time she wears it around the paddock the adult who watched her grow up are reminded of how small she was and now she's a grown adult who is living her childhood dream

she's no longer the kid that would hide behind your legs waiting for you to be done with an interview (another side note: i think she's a tall girl 6' - 6'4" range)

or the kid that would sit on your lap and accidentally fall asleep with a pair of (oversized on her) headphones on her head while you were analyzing data

she's an aerodynamicist (im gonna get really good at spelling that word with the amount of thots i have about this girl) who takes her job seriously because she loves the people she works with so much and want them to be happy with their work performing well out on the track

she's mick schumacher's girl friend and if that boy ever hurts her she has an army of engineers (unbeknownst to her) at her side ready to fight for the girl they love

ready to fight for the little kid they watched grow up into the amazing person they see before them today

☕

omg yes! bono baby is def loved by everyone, and would totally have dedicated helmets and trophies for her

I feel like everyone who watched her grow up on the paddock would see her nowadays and suddenly get that flash of her walking around as a little girl with oversized clothes, always asking questions when she was comfortable with the group, watching everything attentively, and so on.

adding the angsty side (hehe): maybe she got her height from her mother's side of the family (bc bono is not that tall) and she got a lot of other stuff from her so sometimes bono will get that tight feeling on his heart because she reminds him of so much, so many possibilities, so many plans. she's the best thing that happened to him, but there were days when he would get overwhelmed with how similar they could be. this contributes to the narrative that he's not very keen on her and mick's relationship because secretly he fears that she'll leave him for either a lover, or anything honestly.

yup to the sleeping on your lap while you analyze data (but only after she watched everything attentively and got tired). bono reader is curious, but she's also shy so when she was a kid she wouldn't pass the opportunity to crawl into someone's lap and hide there.

her mom isn't in the picture, but mick can bet that there are at least fifty people that are and would get his head if he ever hurts her

[robinfrinjs]

Some current WEC (and a few IMSA) Rumours:

Vettel to Jota Porsche Hypercar

Vettel could drive for Jota in a Hypercar next season possibly alongside Kubica and Button. While another "Top EX-F1 driver" is also in consideration. Vettel is expected to test an Oreca 07 LMP2 with Jota soon. And has not denied the rumours but has said nothing is signed yet.

Mick Schumacher to Alpine

Mick Schumacher is in talks to race for Alpine in Hypercar next year. He's likely to test the car soon and could become a driver in one of their cars next year. Milesi, Vaxiviere and Lapierre have tested the new car already.

Rui Andrade to LMGT3 with a TF Sport Corvette

Currently in LMP2 with WRT, Andrade is not expected to race in Hypercar but could go to GT3. WRT will be running a BMW in the WEC GT3 class, but Andrade his name has mostly come up with TF Sport.

Ferdinand Habsburg has signed with a Hypercar manufacturer

According to his current teamboss, Vincent Vosse (WRT). Ferdinand Habsburg has signed with a Hypercar manufacturer, this manufacturer will not be BMW.

Daniel Juncadella to TF Sport with a Corvette

Current Mercedes Factory Driver Daniel Juncadella is likely to join TF Sport in the LMGT3 class. And would also join Corvette in the endurance races for the IMSA Championship.

Acura to Le Mans?

The Acura currently only racing in IMSA could be coming to Le Mans. Honda Performance Development will formally become Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US). And this is what they said about competing at in WEC (source: DailySportscar.com)

“I think we’ve always been pretty clear. We need to look at the WEC. We have an amazing, in my humble opinion, ARX-06, which has been the work of our team, ORECA have done a stunning job, and our race teams have done a stunning job. So we were smitten with our ARX-06.

They will not be joining in 2024 but possibly 2025?

Peugeot adds a rear-wing

The 9X8 will undergo a major upgrade for 2024. Their initial revolutionary no wing design has not been exactly competitive. For 2024 Peugeot will add a new rear-wing to the car. And will also change their tyre size. Currently they've been driving with a different tyre size than the rest of the grid and want to switch to the same size as everyone else.

Alex Albon to the 24H of Daytona with Wayne Taylor Racing

After it was initially announced that WTR would be running a current F1 driver during the 24H of Daytona rumours broke loose. However Marshall Pruett has confirmed this driver to be Alex Albon.

De Vries to Toyota in 2024

De Vries could be replacing Jose Maria Lopez in the Toyota drivers squad. The Dutch driver has a long-standing connection with the team and was meant to replace Lopez for the 2023 season already. But as de Vries signed a Formula 1 contract Lopez was retained but only on a single year contract.

Isotta Fraschini is evaluating a possible second car

Isotta will be joining the Hypercar grid with current LMP2 team Vector Sport next year. However Isotta is looking for a second customer to run a second car in WEC. This could be any one of LMP2 team Duqueine, or the Swiss GT squad Emil Frey Racing.

Jules Gounon and Jack Doohan tested an LMP2 recently

Gounon and Doohan recently tested an Oreca 07 with COOL Racing at Portimao recently. Doohan could be under consideration for an Alpine Hypercar seat. Gounon was fastest among several drivers and could be looked at by other Hypercar manufacturers.

Akkodis ASP in LMGT3 with Lexus?

ASP is known to want to join WEC as a customer team. This could be with Lexus and it has been revealed that if they're successful. That their current driver Timur Boguslavskiy is under consideration to continue with ASP if it switches to a WEC program.

[umlewis]

Hamilton Backs Marquez's "Awesome" Ducati MotoGP Move

Lewis Hamilton has backed Marc Marquez's decision to join Ducati as the former Formula 1 and MotoGP world champions eye their respective returns to glory.

Like Hamilton, who has signed for Ferrari next season for a fresh challenge after twelve seasons at Mercedes, six-time MotoGP world champion Marquez has also joined an Italian team in Ducati. The 31-year-old severed his ties with Honda at the end of 2023, one year before his contract was to expire, following a slump in the Japanese manufacturer's performance. Marquez's career stalled following a number of injuries. He suffered a shoulder injury in 2018 that required surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation process. That was followed by an arm injury following a crash at Jerez in 2020 that threatened to put an end to his career, and he had a further setback when he was diagnosed with double vision following a crash at the end of 2021. He was diagnosed with diplopia again in 2022 after suffering a huge high-side in the warm-up ahead of the Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika. However, this season he joined the satellite Ducati team Gresini Racing, where he has impressed and remained in good health to earn a move back to a factory team for 2025. The tantalising prospect will see him go up against two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia at Ducati in a bid to add to his world crowns. Hamilton, who himself is eyeing a final roll of the dice in his quest to move clear on eight F1 world titles, is a huge MotoGP fan and says he cannot wait to see the Spanish rider get back to his best riding for such an iconic team. He said: "That's awesome, he's incredible. I love MotoGP, and really excited for the future of the sport as well. I think that they'll be learning a lot from what has happened with Liberty and Formula 1 over the past years, and there's a lot of growth that will happen. But the racing is amazing. And then to see Marquez on that Ducati, it's gonna be cool. I mean, Ducati has always been such a cool bike. I think from an athlete's perspective, and from a rider or driver's perspective… It's maybe some of you, maybe in a job for a long, long time. It's great to have something new, a new environment, new desk, new people to work with, and new challenges. And there's nerves. There's all these things that you are unsure of, in the sense that you don't know how you're going to blend in the environment, for example. But that's exciting, and it's great when you're welcomed into a new space. So yeah, I think it's really cool. I can't wait to see him now on that bike."

[t-top-apologist]

There are combinations in this world that we're just fated to work. Beer and pretzels. Houndstooth patterns and your grandmother. Laws against fireworks and driving across state lines to buy enough colorfully named explosives to level multiple city halls. I've said this before, but chief among these beautiful combinations is "Little Car, Big Motor."

We've all heard the jokes about the Dodge Viper just being a spicy Miata. This is mainly because Ken Saward designed both the Viper and the NB Miata, but also, I would posit, pulls from a much deeper truth: Small, rounded cars originally fitted with 4 cylinder engines deserve to instead be fitted with large displacement engines wielding the sort of horsepower usually reserved for large cargo craft or youtubers who only speak Billet Parts.

Obviously you can claim that the Miata/Viper connection is evidence enough, but really we should be looking at the Shelby Cobra, whose legacy the Viper sought to uphold, like a youngster lighting firecrackers for his uncle who no longer possesses the fingers to do so.

The Shelby Cobra, another small rounded car that started out as a british AC Cobra before Carroll Shelby started stabbing Ford V8s into it, is in my opinion the archetype of small car big engine. Sure, later on the American muscle car put big blocks into small cars, reaching the peak of sport performance with the factory V8 Gremlin, but we can't expect the humble rounded british lines of the AC Ace (now with added Ford FE) to match the Gremlin's sophisticated styling and handling, can we?

One could even say that, with Chrysler's acquisition of AMC, one should ignore Shelby in favor of crowning the Viper as successor to the V8 Gremlin. The 2nd Gen even had a liftback hatch. One could also get rocks thrown at oneself by irate owners at local car meets. I digress.

Where were we now? Oh yes, small car big engine. I'd venture to say that, despite the "haters" who said I "couldn't do it" and that they were "going to call in a noise complaint" my Honda Fit Triton V10 swap meets all the requirements of Small Car Rounded Lines Big Engine, therefore earning me Carrolls blessing. If I could only get that for my mid engine Odyssey concept. It's basically a GT40 with sliding doors if you squint and turn around to look the other way.

[flyingfabio]

I think Miller will stay, which for me is a bit of a pity because Augusto Fernandez is probably going to Superbikes. Don't get me wrong, he has been nowhere this season and is in fact behind Jack in the standings but this is only his second year, while Jack has been in Motogp for 10 now. And Jack has had the Honda in its glorious days (albeit satellite) and the Ducati (in the factory) while this two years Augusto has been stuck in a satellite KTM

i'm disappointed for augusto because he had a pretty good run at the end of last season but sadly his performance this year is quite poor and the comparison with pedro hurts him a lot. i don't think it's a thing of who deserves more between augusto and miller, ktm made their intentions clear that they don't want their satellite team to be a junior team anymore by signing maverick and enea. also augusto got two years which is more than some other ktm juniors ever got... just unfortunate circumstances all around

[batsplat]

jorge martin is just an off-brand motogp version of george russell. both incredible qualifiers, hard racers, have issues sometimes keeping their tyres together, have stayed in a satellite/backmarker team for three years begging the big manufacturer to accept them into the main fold and will randomly decide that they are actually done with race by beefing it into the gravel/walls on the last laps.

this is why ducati did not hire martin, he hasn’t done the power point presentation

strong last line but hm... do I agree with this...

I don't entirely disagree with the profile of racer, though jorge's a bit more in the flame bright and early mould (partly also just because of the different rhythms of those two racing series). he cut his teeth not just on being an exceptional qualifier but also a starter. even though this year, you do kinda have to say pecco's just?? uh?? he's never been a BAD starter but I swear he didn't used to be this good? some of his starts from the second or third row this year have been genuine works of art. this isn't relevant, just needed to mention it. that's part of why jorge does so well at sprints... he's really good at that abbreviated format, where it's just all out from the very start. mr russell was considered quite a poor starter in his williams days (though lbr that may have partly been car characteristics) - the qualifying's very strong and very consistent, but for a while the question was of capitalising off the line. he's got a few more drives that are about working his way through the field... like qatar last year. I just don't really associate jorge with that?

the bottling thing is debatable and we could get into that debate, but like, never mind that. we're leaving sports analysis now and getting back into vibes territory. the thing about jorge is that he has had a competitive bike from the word go. mr russell, whatever you think about how clutch he is or isn't, did not set a foot wrong in terms of making the mercedes case for himself. what happened with him was basically just... a series of unfortunate events that got him stuck in a spectacularly uncompetitive car for three years. got one shot in a good car in said three years (sakhir 2020) and delivered the perfect performance. but jorge!! jorge had 2022!! he blew it!! he did get unlucky with the gp22 vs the gp21 comparison early that season and how bastianini was able to take advantage of the early stage factory spec malaise, and he's far from the only gp22 who was struggling early on (cf one 'pecco bagnaia'). but still, some of his rides that year were. truly horrendous. and the way the whole thing played out left him with a massive chip on the shoulder.... that's the thing, right, I think what's so key about jorge is that sense of grievance, the fact that he was rejected for that factory seat and we're now several years on from that. and it's a really thin line between that being a good thing and a bad thing. like, anything that's a potential source of motivation fundamentally can be helpful, right? in 2007, casey showed up at ducati as not their first choice, kinda a stopgap, and also after yamaha had pulled the plug on a potential contract not once but twice. he has spoken again and again how yamaha and honda's behaviour towards him made him want to show them exactly what they were missing out on. he used that! it was good for him as a competitor that he had something to get worked up over! he's done it throughout his career! but on the flip side, if you're so busy feeling victimised that you're kind of already... primed for failure, then you've got a problem. like, if the takeaway is you're probably screwed anyway because you're being sabotaged by the factory, then even if that were true you're fucked before you start competing. you've already lost in your own head, you've made excuses before you've even started. it's a thin line! thinking the world is out to get you can either be a good way to get yourself to going, or it can be a loser mindset

quickly circling back to georgie boy, my main feeling is that they kinda have a different type of malaise. one is an overthinker and the other is at times very much an under-thinker. grussy actually shares the overthinking trait with his fellow 63 more than anyone else... all three kinda have this fun meeting point of a lot of cockiness and a lot of insecurity - they just balance them in other ways. and russell reminds me more of pecco in that kind of... being constantly thrown up against a Big Legacy of someone you admire, being in the shadow of greats and having to make your own name... you're very much part of a succession plan that leaves you with massive shoes to fill... (though admittedly grussy has also gone through the unenviable experience of getting to work closely with his hero and eventually having most of said hero's fans absolutely despise him. can happen, I suppose.) jorge is a bit more baggage-free. he's very much the main character in his own story, not so much faffing about with the narrative implications of all this shit. more straightforward! if jorge wins, it's about him. if he loses, it's also about him. ducati has been his world for the past few years, to the point where he's gotten a bit parochial about the whole thing. early this season, he was talking like - sure, the championship lead is important, BUT this is also giving him power in contract negotiations!! which... yes, that's true, but also that should be way down the order of priorities my man. jorge martin might be the only person in this universe who... genuinely might be more obsessed with beating pecco than marc? like, beating the marc marquez would be great and all, 8x world champion bla bla, but pecco is his personal antagonist! he's known him for years! that's ducati's golden boy! he needs to beat pecco so badly! there's something really fun about a rivalry where it feels like at least one side's feelings towards the other... kinda go beyond a personal relationship, like at a certain point it becomes about what the other guy Represents. jorge isn't worried about legacy and the shoes he's got to fill and can he truly live up to all those expectations as much as he's worried about himself and also occasionally pecco bagnaia

anyway, I've been thinking about the bottling thing... what jorge said about it earlier's been rattling around in my head since I saw the quote

man, it must be really tough, right? like, you don't know why it's happening... it's not just cockiness - though there is an element of someone who's kinda used to bulldozing his way through problems with sheer obstinacy and stubborn self belief (another distinction with the 63's, who are more introspective and prone to self-flagellation following mistakes). but it's also just... you can't figure out why it's such a fundamental shortcoming of your game! today, from the way pecco and also luca (apparently) were talking about it, it seems like there was something noticeable about how jorge was gradually losing a bit in his control and precision as a result of how the tyres were going off, as a sort of precursor of the fatal error. which... well, it's at least a somewhat understandable mistake, because it comes from pressure? it's not just the tyres going off each time - the mugello sprint crash was lap four, jerez was lap ten. but an interesting thing about his big errors this year is that they have all come as a result of serious pressure - as a result of pecco directly behind him in the case of jerez and sachsenring and like... in anticipation of the massive points damage he knew he was probably going to take in mugello. it sounds obvious to say pressure is more likely to generate mistakes, but of course that's not always true of our title contenders! pecco only really wakes up when he's already dug a hole halfway to the centre of the earth - but when he faces actual pressure, his track record is mostly very strong. his biggest howlers this season, portimao + catalunya sprints, both came when he was leading comfortably. martin has also made these pressure-light mistakes in the past, most memorably indonesia last year but... well

one of the most fascinating bits of sports are like... limits and ceilings and how your build-up as an athlete kinda determines what's possible for you. like, sports is sort of where you experiment with notions of fate and inevitability and all that, where you question whether it's possible for anyone to ever really change. is it once a choker, always a choker? if you know that you have this problem, this flaw that is always just there in the background, waiting to be actualised - what can you do? does it give you more or less hope that there's not a clear root cause? how debilitating that must be for confidence too, always knowing that you could cause everything you've worked for to crash down in a moment.... this is where. y'know, the thing with pecco, right, is that he's now gotten to a weird place where psychologically he has to be wary of the mistakes he himself makes - but he knows that he can also bounce back from them. he has that muscle memory, because he's done it before. he chucked it down the road in india and he won the title! jorge did it in thailand and he didn't! and the problem is that it becomes a self-reinforcing cycle of sorts, because even though the margin between the two of them at the end of last year ended up being relatively slim... one of them still won and one of them still lost. which actually means that even though pecco and jorge both have made serious mistakes this year (though pecco's track record is cleaner - in portimao the points punishment didn't quite fit the crime and in the jerez/le mans sprints he was kinda just unlucky), only one of them knows they can do this shit and win the title anyway

and now jorge has an entire summer break to go away and think about that. can be a good thing, get some distance, and it's easy to slip into a run of bad form that you can't escape if there's no interruption. can be an awful thing because you're sitting with your mistakes for weeks on end with no chance to rectify them. I'm naturally a pessimist on the 'can any athlete ever really change' question because life has very much worn me down on this topic over the last few years (aka some sports results made me really sad). but I always want to be optimistic! I want to believe athletes can fix their fatal flaws! I want to believe they can get better at managing their tyres and not folding under pressure. and pressure works weirdly... sometimes it's not really a test of 'mental strength' as much as it is of what kind of in-built margin an athlete has (btw this is my best guess for what goes wrong with martin). sometimes it's beneficial in sharpening the mind and erasing the possibility of you just... not being sufficiently concentrated (which is my best guess for what happens with pecco when he's not being pressured). can you truly get better at dealing with that? or at a certain point, have you already accumulated so much mental scar tissue that you're always going to get in your own way? who knows! maybe we're all doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past forever and ever. who knows

anyway. in response to this ask. I do think it's more a case of 63's aligned in being too stuck in their own head, too concerned with legacy, and walking a very thin line between arrogance and insecurity. all three of them, though, have a bad case of 'coming through the ranks in an era of greats they'll always be disparagingly compared to'. what's new can never be as good as what came before, right? and they're constantly struggling to manage or maybe even overcome basic flaws that seem to be embedded in their make up as competitors... maybe they'll make it, just a little. maybe they never will. but it sure is fun to watch them try!

[quadcamscumbag]

Watching the Austrian GP today, several things have crossed my mind. First, perception. It's easy for the armchair racer to say Raoul Fernandez sucks (or any rider on the grid for that matter), however, let's put it into perspective. These are prototype machines, the fastest bikes that change direction in a race in the world. More technology, more horsepower, and 100% unavailable to the public. Think about that, these people are PAID to ride the most highly evolved motorcycles in the world, they are the best riders in the world. To say even the lowest performers suck is not a right you have. Unless you're capable of riding one of the machines at the ragged edge, your right to say any of them suck is officially revoked.

Next, my thoughts drifted to front tire wear. With the whole grid choosing the hardest option for the fronts, why has Michelin not changed their technology to match the aero downforce these bikes generate? Is bike development outpacing tire technology? It's like tire engineers and bike engineers are locked in a never ending battle. 2023 has been the year of tire conservation, whomever can maintain their tires throughout the race has a key to the podium. I'm thinking the impending move to a smaller displacement (rumored to be 850cc) will affect rear tires, but with further aero development fronts will continue to be an issue. Another possibility is with the chance Bridgestone will be coming back in after Michelins contract expires at the end of 2024, have they developed a tire to withstand the heat in traffic and incredible downforce of these bikes?

And, concessions. Honda and Yamaha have had a few of the most abysmal years, and are asking for concessions to remain competitive in MotoGP. KTM is vehemently against it (rumor is they're lobbying for another factory team), and IMO, they should be. There were no concessions for Aprillia or KTM, or their sister team Gas-Gas as they developed their race bikes. Honda and Yamaha have completely lost their dominance of MotoGP to Ducati, why? Is it their bureaucratic engineering? Small changes instead of leaps of faith? It seems Ducati and the other small manufacturers (everybody but Honda and Yamaha) have been more willing to take chances on things that have become the standard in the sport; aero first appeared on Ducati, ride-height devices, rear fins, and a host of other changes. These took a leap of faith, not careful years of development. With a rider of the caliber that Marc Marquez is, having to use a soft rear tire (the only rider on the grid to do so) just to stay in the points positions (not to mention finishing a GP for the first time this year) is a a huge indicator of how far the Japanese manufacturers have fallen.

[interest-articles]

The 2024 Africa Twin: A True Adventure Machine

Honda's iconic Africa Twin receives significant updates for 2024, enhancing its performance and versatility for adventure riders.

The Africa Twin has long been synonymous with adventure riding, capturing the spirit of exploration and offering riders the confidence to venture further. With the release of the 2024 models, Honda has taken this legendary motorcycle to new heights. The standard Africa Twin and Adventure Sports versions have undergone significant updates, making them more specialized and capable than ever before.

From enhanced off-road performance to improved on-road handling, the Africa Twin lineup offers a wide range of options for riders seeking thrilling adventures on any terrain.

Since its in 1988, the Africa Twin has been a symbol of "True Adventure" in the ADV riding world. Inspired by the NXR750 and NXR800 factory racers that dominated the Dakar Rally in the late 1980s, the Africa Twin created a new market and became a global hit. After a hiatus, the Africa Twin made a triumphant return in 2016 with the CRF1000L, and has since garnered a dedicated following of adventure enthusiasts.

A Legacy of Adventure

The Africa Twin's history is steeped in adventure and off-road prowess. The original XRV650, introduced in Europe in 1988, was based on the NXR750 and NXR800 racers that conquered the Dakar Rally. It quickly gained popularity and evolved into the XRV750 in 1990, selling over 73,000 units before being discontinued in 2001.

In 2016, Honda revived the Africa Twin with the CRF1000L, offering it in both European and American markets. The following year, the Adventure Sports version joined the lineup, catering to riders seeking a more touring-focused experience. The Africa Twin has since become a staple in the adventure riding community, known for its rugged durability and versatility.

What's New for 2024

The 2024 Africa Twin models receive a host of updates and refinements, enhancing their performance and capabilities. Adventure Sports versions now feature a 19-inch front wheel and shorter suspension travel, optimizing on-road handling and maneuverability. Tubeless tires, previously exclusive to Adventure Sports versions, are now fitted on the standard versions as well, providing convenient repair options without removing the wheel.

The 1,084cc twin-cylinder engine generates stronger power and torque in the low- to mid-rpm range, thanks to a higher compression ratio and updated ECU settings. The Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) has also been improved for smoother engagement at low speeds. Both standard and Adventure Sports versions receive updated electronic settings, a redesigned intake/exhaust layout, and revised styling, making them even more capable and appealing to adventure riders.

Design and Styling

The design of the 2024 Africa Twin models has been refined to enhance their performance and aesthetics. The standard Africa Twin features a slim, compact shape with a redesigned front fairing and rear seat, improving its off-road capabilities. The Adventure Sports versions receive a new front fairing that optimizes aerodynamics and wind protection, as well as a thicker and more comfortable seat.

The Adventure Sports versions also come with a smaller 19-inch front wheel and reduced suspension travel, lowering the bike's center of gravity and improving on-road handling. Both versions maintain the Africa Twin's iconic look while incorporating modern design elements.

Electronic Technology

The 2024 Africa Twin models are equipped with advanced electronic technology to enhance the riding experience. Throttle-by-wire and a six-axis Bosch IMU provide precise control and enable features such as cornering ABS and traction control. The Africa Twin's 6.5-inch TFT LCD touch panel display offers customizable screen arrangements and is compatible with Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™, allowing riders to connect their smartphones for navigation and communication purposes.

The Adventure Sports versions also feature three-stage cornering lighting for optimal illumination during different types of corners. With these technological advancements, the Africa Twin offers riders a seamless and connected riding experience.

Engine and Drivetrain

All versions of the 2024 Africa Twin are powered by a 1,084cc water-cooled, parallel-twin engine that delivers strong power and torque. The engine has undergone improvements, including a higher compression ratio, optimized ECU settings, and an updated muffler design. These enhancements result in increased performance and improved driveability across the rev range.

The Africa Twin is available with either a six-speed manual transmission or Honda's innovative Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT). The DCT version offers seamless gear changes and can be operated in automatic or manual mode, providing riders with the flexibility to choose their preferred shifting style.

Chassis and Suspension

The Africa Twin's chassis and suspension have been designed to handle a wide range of terrains and riding conditions. The steel semi-double-cradle frame provides optimal rigidity and flexibility for challenging situations, while the aluminum swingarm ensures rigidity and lightness. The standard Africa Twin models feature fully adjustable front and rear suspension, with long-travel Showa forks and a Pro-Link® rear suspension system.

The Adventure Sports versions are equipped with Showa Electronically Equipped Ride Adjustment (EERA™), which adjusts damping based on bike speed, stance, and fork behavior. This high-tech suspension system allows riders to customize their suspension settings for different riding scenarios, ensuring optimal comfort and performance.

Brakes and Safety Features

The 2024 Africa Twin models are equipped with advanced braking systems and safety features to provide riders with confidence and control. Dual front 310mm petal-style floating rotors and radial-mount four-piston calipers deliver consistent stopping power, while the rear rotor features a petal design for efficient braking. The ABS system is designed to adapt to different riding conditions, with separate modes for on-road and off-road performance.

The system utilizes information from the IMU to detect rear-wheel lift and adjust braking pressure accordingly. Riders can also switch off the rear ABS for more precise off-road braking. Additionally, Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC) helps optimize acceleration performance by providing smooth slide control and wheelie control.

Accessories and Customization

Honda offers a wide range of accessories for the Africa Twin, allowing riders to customize their motorcycles to suit their preferences and riding style. From aluminum luggage to higher and lower seats, there are options to enhance comfort, storage, and functionality. Honda also offers accessory packs, such as the Rally Pack, Adventure Pack, Urban Pack, and Travel Pack, which provide a combination of accessories tailored to specific riding needs.

Whether riders are looking for added protection, increased storage capacity, or improved touring capabilities, the Africa Twin's accessories allow for endless customization possibilities.

The 2024 Africa Twin lineup represents the pinnacle of adventure riding, combining Honda's rich heritage with cutting-edge technology and performance. With updates and refinements across the board, these motorcycles offer unparalleled versatility and capability on any terrain. Whether riders are tackling off-road trails, exploring remote landscapes, or cruising on scenic highways, the Africa Twin delivers an exhilarating and unforgettable riding experience.

With its legendary status and the latest advancements, the Africa Twin continues to inspire riders to push their boundaries and embark on new adventures.

[hirocimacruiser]

A small factory has a dream.

MITSUOKA

Mitsuoka Motor Co., Ltd.

"CHALLENGE & DREAM"

MITSUOKA LINEUP

A small factory has a dream.

Mitsuoka Motors aims to be unique in the Japanese automobile industry, and the original cars that it sells nationwide are produced at its own development factory in Toyama Prefecture.

Rather than pursuing only the performance and convenience of automobiles, we took on the challenge of thinking outside the box and thinking outside the box, resulting in the birth of the first-generation Bute in 1993. It became a pioneer of fashion cars with an emphasis on design and a sense of fun, gaining the support of customers who seek individuality, fashion, luxury, commitment, and rarity in their cars, and in 2010 Cumulative production has reached 10,000 units, and it continues to be loved even today.

In 1994, we launched the Zero One, a sports car with an in-house chassis that made even more dreams come true. In Japan, it became the ``10th passenger car manufacturer'' after Honda, and received the ``Nihon Keizai Shimbun Regional Revitalization Contribution Company Award'', the ``Japan Fashion Association Lifestyle Culture Award'', and the ``Ministry of International Trade and Industry Award''. It was also selected as a Good Design Product (currently by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry). In 2001, we exhibited for the first time at the Tokyo Motor Show and announced the ``Orochi''. It has gained a lot of attention not only in Japan but also overseas. In 2006, the long-awaited ``Orochi'' was released to meet high expectations. Won the sports car category award in the ``2006-2007 Car of the Year''. It was selected as a special award winner in the ``Car View Car of the Year 2006-2007''.

We want to create cars that are playful, free, and genuinely captivating.

This is our dream for cars.

Instead of mass-produced cars using machines, we put our heart and soul into each car.

In pursuit of an original design, our cars have body shapes that are unsuitable for mass production, and all processes such as steel tapping, welding, FRP molding, and body joining are done by hand.

The car that was born in this way is a rare and tasteful car created with the excellent skill and sensibility of the workshop craftsmen.

If you find a pair of shoes you like, and if you share our sensibilities, we will create a pair just for you, one by one, made by craftsmen in our workshop with the utmost care, just like the bags and shoes of European and American brands make.

More fun cars, cars with more dreams.

Our car manufacturing is still a dream come true.

Car in pics is a Mitsuoka Himiko which is an NC(later ND) Mazda MX5 / Miata underneath the lengthened front wheelbase and complete body redesign (other than roof)